


Visitation Of The Ghost.

by orphan_account



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Magic, Alternate Universe - Witchcraft, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Angst, Gen, I'm Bad At Tagging, Implied/Referenced Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-21
Updated: 2019-01-21
Packaged: 2019-10-13 15:10:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,194
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17490257
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: “You’re not real.” Jaemin comments, sounding so sure of himself when he says it. “You’re not him.”He laughs, hand leaving Jaemin’s hair as he walks back to his corner of the room, the corner of the room where the shadows are a bit too dark and the sun never seems to shine.“You’re too weak to make declarations like that, Jaemin.”





	Visitation Of The Ghost.

**Author's Note:**

> Despite listening to Bleed Magic while writing this, I chose Visitation Of The Ghost for the title because I felt it fit better in the end. So yeah, title from Visitation Of The Ghost By The Brobecks.
> 
> This connects with 'Soggy Clothes And Breezeblocks.' and you'll probably want to read that first if you haven't already.

2, 5, 6, 13.

 

Jaemin counts like his life depends on it, the even beeping of the monitor his only solace in a crudely white room. Jaemin counts until he has to loop back to the beginning, until he forgets where he left off at and suddenly everything seems to clatter back to the ground in a heap.

 

“You’re running yourself into the ground, you know?” He asks, black cat on his shoulder and eyes unforgiving as he gazes at Jaemin from the corner of the room. “It’d be sad if you didn’t deserve it.” He continues, voice sweet but words mean, cutting at old wounds as he suddenly is at Jaemin’s side, tanned hand grabbing his chin and forcing him to look.

 

“If you’d stop interrupting me I’d be fine.” Jaemin informs him, eyes just as cold as the truths that the witch and his companion never seem to stop spilling. It’s unfortunate really, that this is his punishment for what he’s done, that his punishment comes in the form of warm skin and a second shadow.

 

He scoffs, squeezing Jaemin’s jaw just a bit harder, fingers warm and cold all at the same time as he does his best to leave bruises on Jaemin’s skin.

  
There’s never any marks when he pulls back though, when he and his damn cat return to the shadows that gather in the corner of the room.

 

“Not my fault that you’re so weak.” He comments blandly, another truth that Jaemin ignores in favor of staring at the monitor, tracking a heartbeat that shouldn’t be there. “Maybe if you were stronger, you could save him.” He says and again it’s the truth, again it’s cold, colder than he should be. “You still remember how to get stronger, don’t you?”

 

Jaemin’s hand curls into a ball, gripping at air as he tries to remind himself that he has to, that he needs to do this, that this is for the best. “Of course I do.” He answers, eyes shut tight as if the world will disappear, as if he’s strong enough to make it disappear.

 

“Then do it.” He says, promptly slinking out of the room without a noise, the door never creaking opened or slamming shut despite how it had been so noisy when Jaemin came in.

 

Then again, maybe if he was strong like him it wouldn’t make any noise for Jaemin too.

 

* * *

 

Jeno’s always been a good friend, always knowing when to ask the right questions and when not to ask the wrong ones. Jeno’s just good like that, always has been and always will be.

 

“How was Jisung?” He asks, sitting behind his old drum kit as their guitarist leaves to answer a call. Jeno looks tired, a little worn out around the edges, but Jaemin doesn’t comment on it because Jaemin knows that he looks worse, because Jaemin’s just good like that.

 

“As good as he can be, I guess.” Jaemin shrugs, falling back a few steps to grab a water bottle, chugging it like he’s had nothing to drink in years as Jeno gazes at him curiously for a few moments before his attention is drawn towards something else. 

 

He’ll never ask the wrong questions because he’s just good like that.

 

Jaemin follows Jeno’s gaze as he drops the now empty bottle carelessly, blinking slowly when he sees a cat lounging on top of a few stray boxes. The cat’s eyes are warm and cold all at the same time, the cat looks lonely without a shoulder to perch on.

 

“Dude, when’d you get a cat?!” Jeno yells to their guitarist, gaze still caught on the cat with interest.

 

Jeno always knows when to ask the right questions because he’s just good like that.

 

It’s unfortunate that Jaemin doesn’t hear the reply of their bandmate, mind lost in the memories of screams that belong to a voice that’s kind and powerful all at once, a voice that was too curious for its own good.

 

Jaemin doesn’t dwell on it though because he’s just good like that.

 

* * *

 

There’s a cat on his best friend’s shoulder tonight, one that looks at Jaemin like it knows all his secrets, one that makes him uncomfortable.

 

“Remember when they found a body in the alley next to your complex?” Jeno asks tonight, eyes scanning the shadows like the shadows aren’t clinging to him, clinging to the thing that’s on his shoulder. “Did you ever hear more about that? Feels like the news got swept under the rug, just went poof.”

 

Jeno always knows when to ask the wrong questions because he’s just good like that.

 

“Not really, didn’t even get a name or anything but I heard he was pretty young.” Jaemin shrugs, stuck in a staring contest with a goddamn cat, silently begging and pleading for it to just leave, to run away. “I think I saw his family once too, big group of people and a cat too.”

 

“Really? That’s even fucking weirder.” Jeno says, yelping when the cat suddenly digs its claws into his shoulder, eyes cold and warm all at once, burning. “Fuck, what’d I do to you?”

 

Jeno never asks the right questions because he’s just good like that.

 

“Hey, I think I saw something.” Jaemin says, closing his eyes for a brief second, shutting them tight before he’s opening them wide again. “We should go check it out, it might be another stray you can take home.”    
  


“What would be the chances of that?” Jeno says, laughing and smiling in the way that he does, eyes turning into crescents as he leads the way into the alley without question because he’s just good like that.

 

When Jeno falls, the cat finally leaps down, returning to it’s damned owner who now stands in the corner, watching silently as Jaemin tears himself apart from the outside.

 

Jaemin doesn’t dwell on it though because he’s just weak like that.

 

* * *

 

 

2, 5, 6, 13.

 

Jaemin counts like his life depends on it.

 

“Still too weak.” He says, meaner now with his now black and red cat, meaner now with the way he pets Jaemin’s hair. “Even when you’ve nearly lost everyone, you’re still willing to lose more.” He says, blunt nails scratching Jaemin’s scalp so hard that Jaemin should worry that he’ll cause some damage for once. “Fucking pathetic.”

 

“You’re not real.” Jaemin comments, sounding so sure of himself when he says it. “You’re not him.”

 

He laughs, hand leaving Jaemin’s hair as he walks back to his corner of the room, the corner of the room where the shadows are a bit too dark and the sun never seems to shine.

 

“You’re too weak to make declarations like that, Jaemin.” He says, kinder and softer than he’s ever been before it’s gone all of the sudden, never to return so long as Jaemin’s still here, still breathing. “Now try again.”

 

Jaemin doesn’t dare argue further, knows that there’s no point in trying since everything he says is true. No, instead Jaemin counts because his life isn’t the one depending on it.

 

2, 5, 6, 13, 23.

 

Jaemin counts like it’s all he’s good for.

**Author's Note:**

> send me prompts/yell at me on my cc and follow my twt @tiredhyucks 💞


End file.
